Adam Provan: Met Police officer raped two women - including teenager on blind date after lying about his age

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A disgraced former Metropolitan Police officer has been found guilty of raping two women - including a 16-year-old girl who he met on a blind date after lying about his age.

Adam Provan, 44, was convicted by a jury of two counts of rape against the teenager, after he assaulted her in a woodland in 2010. He was also found guilty of six counts of rape of a colleague - a fellow police officer - between 2003 and 2005, which was said to be part of a “campaign of controlling, abusive behaviour and sexual violence”.

All of the despicable offences were committed during his 16-year career as a police constable, while he served in the Met’s East Area Command Unit.

The trial at Wood Green Crown Court heard how Provan, from Newmarket, Suffolk, had exchanged messages with the teenager - a GCSE student aged just 16 at the time - and asked her to meet him after lying about his age and disguising his identity. He told her they would go to the cinema, but instead took her to a woodland area and demanded sex.

“I didn’t want him to touch me,” the victim told the court. “He pulled out a condom and asked if we could ‘do it’. I said no. I said it clearly, I didn’t want to have sex with him.” She then described pulling away from Provan and repeatedly saying ‘no’, but found she was ultimately unable to fight him off.

Provan then raped the girl for a second time on their “hellish” date after he drove her to McDonald's for milkshakes. The sexual predator, who had pretended to be 22, claimed he was shocked at how young the girl was - but this contradicted evidence that prosecutors presented, including a picture the teenager had sent Provan of her celebrating the end of her GCSEs.

Initially, the girl stayed quiet about the traumatic assault - with the court hearing she feared she would not be believed as he was a police officer. But she bravely came forward to report Provan in 2016.

Provan was then jailed for nine years and sacked from the Met in March 2019, but he successfully appealed against those convictions in 2022, leading to a re-trial which began in May 2023. This trial included six new counts of rape relating to the second victim, who had gathered the courage to come forward after hearing the girl’s victim impact statement at Provan’s sentencing hearing in 2018.

The police officer revealed the abuse she had suffered in the early 2000s, with the court hearing of several attacks - including one incident in which Provan covered her face during sex until she could not breathe. In another incident, Provan told the woman he “hoped she would get raped” - before going on to carry out such an assault.

She revealed she had reported Provan to Met Police management, but found her complaint was never investigated. The court also heard how Provan was known as “odd” by police colleagues, and once told female colleagues he would “follow them” when they refused to invite him to lunch.

After the guilty verdicts, Judge Noel Lucas KC hit out at Met Police bosses, saying they should be “ashamed” of the initial response to concerns about Provan, which were raised before he raped the 16-year-old girl. “Appallingly, as the Casey Report confirms, misogyny in the Met was rife and institutionalised,” he said.

The Casey Report, commissioned in the wake of the horrific rape and murder of Sarah Everard, in March concluded that the Met is “institutionally racist, sexist, and homophobic” - and that a “complete overhaul” is needed to restore public trust and confidence in policing.

Also commenting after the trial, Detective Sergeant Victoria James said: “These are truly dreadful offences. Provan abused his position to win the trust of both these women. I hardly need to say his behaviour fell grossly short of what we expect from our police officers.

“The 2010 assault was brazen and calculated, with clear indication he had planned it beforehand. The second victim suffered a campaign of controlling and abusive behaviour and sexual violence. I commend the incredible courage of both women in helping us bring Provan to justice.

“The Commissioner has been extremely clear there is no place in the Met for anyone who does not uphold the highest standards and where there is criminality we will absolutely investigate and bring before the courts.”

The jury unanimously found Provan guilty of all eight rapes. He will be sentenced on 21 August.